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BY MEGAN NOE

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

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Baby on board? Not anymore-- at least not in the first class section of Malaysia Airlines.

CEO Tengku Azmil initially justified the ban via Twitter, citing complaints from passengers who couldn’t sleep due to crying infants. The airline later defended its decision to The Australian Business Traveller using a different tack-- no room for bassinets.

“In 2003, Malaysia Airlines embarked on a revamp of First and Business class cabin of the B747s... As a result of this seat revamp and the introduction of the ottoman, there was no facility for positioning bassinets in the First Class of the B747s."

In the United States -- some of New York’s WNBC viewers seem to like the idea.

“Bill H. wrote, ‘Absolutely. Children are a choice, not an inevitability as many seem to think, and if a passenger’s choices are disrupting the flight for others then actions like this need to be taken.’ Richie B. said, ‘Yes, yes, yes. Flying first class is for added comfort and relaxation, and expensive. The last thing I would want is an annoying, screaming, crying, uptight child sitting near me.’”

But a Babble blogger says it's unfair to parents who can afford it and want luxury for their whole family.

“Let’s say you are an exhausted mother, and you too want to travel comfortably, and have room to play with and interact with your child, something that can be a challenge in the economy section. Sure the baby might make some noise, but isn’t that why the airlines pass out earplugs to first class passengers?”

Good or bad, The Economist says the decision proves one thing-- money talks.

“Unfortunately for new parents, airlines' profit margins are heavily reliant on business travellers, and people travelling for business are much less likely to have babies with them. So if you run an airline that is trying to attract more business travellers (and press attention), banning babies might seem like a smart play.”

The airline says its policy has actually been in place for a while, but will be extended to its new super-jumbo jets when they arrive. A Faster Times blogger points out the idea is becoming increasingly popular.

“British Airways and Virgin America both floated the idea of child-free flights earlier this year, and a recent survey found that 60 percent of travelers were in favor of creating ‘family-friendly zones’ on planes that would essentially contain all the crying babies and fidgety toddlers to one area.”

Malaysia Airlines’ website describes a baby as anyone under 2 years of age. Passengers with babies are still welcome in its business and economy classes.

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